It's ten years since Elvis got this particularly spiteful review for a show in Manchester. The name of the writer doesn't survive with this link which is a pity because it's always stuck in my mind as an especially well written , if plain wrong, piece.

TWENTY-FIVE years since his first hit and with a raft of new London bands mining the tense, late-70s new wave scene from which he originally emerged, for Elvis Costello the time for one last hurrah is now.Earnest and full of pious pretension, Costello has spent the last decade collaborating with string quartets, film directors and past-sell-by-date sixties pop legends, while rarely troubling chart compilers.

Still, admirers have hung on his lyrical dexterity and queer yelping yodel as evidence that he is `a great British songwriter'.

Returning to basics with a three-piece pub-band set-up, this career retrospective proves just how over-rated Costello is as both a performer and writer. His four or five inspired moments - Oliver's Army, Watching The Detectives, I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea, Good Year For The Roses and Shipbuilding - are counter-balanced by whatever else fills up the rest of his 20-odd dusty old albums.

Despite his best efforts to engage the audience through embarrassingly lacklustre singalongs and histrionic guitar antics, Costello and the crowd seem to know we are all just playing for time between his most famous songs.

When he starts to play tracks from his new album, When I Was Cruel, it is to a handful of hesitant applause. Upbeat or downbeat, the new songs are either a pale pastiche of Costello as a kid or melody-free experiments in trying to stay relevant. Throughout, Costello adopts his familiar stance - shoulders hunched, shrugging at his guitar without moving his feet. To his credit, the great pop that he has at his disposal he does not waste. Detectives sprawls out majestically over its sleazy reggae riff and Costello still puts his poignant all into Shipbuilding.

The encore finally provokes a lusty audience rush to the foot of the stage but, once Oliver's Army is speedily dispensed, many are heading for the door, regardless that Costello has a few more songs left to play.

Hey John, I was at the show the review relates to and Elvis was on top form. I was so angered by the review in the Manchester Evening News that I wrote in to complain...and my letter was printed!! I will try and find the original review and get the "culprits" name!

Not sure you were at the same gig as me - the When I Was Cruel/My Funny Valentine segue was worth the entry price alone! Certainly all the people sitting near me seemed to be having a pretty good time. And what about Chris Difford - did he not deserve a mention?Nikki Hill, Oldham10/09/02 at 16:08

He came out and hit the ground running with fast and furious renditions of Green Shirt & Watching the Detectives which woke us up, but the relentless bass drum beat driving the songs was too much for Elvis's vocals. "I don't want to go to Chelsea" was a rushed mess. I couldn't quite work out what Costello was trying to promote to his, mainly, 40 somethings audience: was it "I may be older but I can ROCK!" or Look how clever I can be at re-re-inveting my old stuff? I love EC's stuff for the lyrics and images they make, but delivered in the style he chose tonight all subtlety was lost. Wasn't impreessed with the noodling on guitar and keyboards either - we were some of those that left before the 2nd (or was it 3rd) encore. Chris Difford was brilliant, obviously quite stage shy but very genuine and brilliant at the arrangements of old Squeeze songs for 2 guitars and voices.Graham, Warrington11/09/02 at 17:36

What do you expect from Manchester? It was a boring audience who couldn't appreciate a great artist. Liverpool two nights earlier was bouncing because you had scousers who know how to have a good time and how to get an atmosphere when everybody is made to sit. Costello was brilliant shame that the majority of the audience couldn't appreciate it. £22 for two and a half hours is great value for me. He even gave us 40-year-old fans time for a talk and to sign records outside afterwards. Elvis, give Liverpool two gigs next time and leave out the undeserving Mancunians. Amsterdam should have been the support band and not Chris Difford. Go to see them at the Cavern Club on November 2, they are brilliant.Andy, Ellesmere Port13/09/02 at 10:06

Fuck! Elvis lives. Making middle age seem like a healthy proposition this Elvis is as wired and fantastic as ever- mule whipping a stripped down mean as fuck band into splenetic tight power garage rock riffola. The sole survivor of punk's parallel Stiff records power pop scene that also featured Ian Dury and Nick Lowe- Elvis sounds almost exactly as he did quarter of a century ago- and thats no bad thing if you want your pop laced with venom and intelligence. The bitterness and the bile that always underlined his best moments is still there- spitting its way through the wired tight riffs and the stripped pithy tense song writing that has always been Costello at his best.

Elvis Costello is, oddly, so 2002- flush from hitting the top twenty in the USA with his current album- a return to form back to the garage workout that oddly sounds more contemporary than ever In a music scene when garage rock has suddenly become viciously de rigour its great to see an old master playing it for real, not as a tongue in cheek ironic take on the form or a bunch of catwalk luvvies from the big apple faking it- y’know sometimes a balding sweaty old man armed with a guitar can still wipe the floor with da kidz.

There are of course soggy bits when it goes on too long but when he kicks in with the hits it does sound rather wonderful. There may be a rule in rock n roll that you have to butt out when you get too old but if you manage to retain half a much aggression, passion and intelligence as Elvis when your head butting the big 5-0 then you fully deserve your place in the Apollo’s.

With killa renditions of ‘Watching the detectives’ and 'I Don't Wanna Go To Chelsea’ sounding as bang up to date as the day they were intensely penned you wonder whether music stood still or of this Elvis avoided the burger self indulgent hell of his namesake and just got on with documenting the small things that fuck us up in life with a mean eye and a sharp mind. Elvis has managed to make it outside the other side of the pop wall and into the surviving on your own terms world of fuck fashion and cool and all those shite constrictors that have always wrecked British music.

excellent choice colrow....did the boys play HIS LATEST FLAME with RR back then? i never saw it in my three shows though i did see Ruffians at least once. i remember it somehow being on RANK however, as an intro or something.

just googled it...as you said EXACTLY that way. must go home and plop RANK upon the turntable as i'd forgotten!

I wasn't there in 2002 at the Apollo, but I had been at the Kings Dock show in Liverpool a couple of moths earlier and been disappointed for the first time at a Costello gig, he seemed tired and weary. As a consequence, despite the pleading of a fellow Costellophile I didn't bother with the gig he did at the Mountford Hall the night before the Apollo gig which I'm told was a total return to form.

One thing about the Apollo, it takes skill on mixing desk. I've seen many gigs there with disappointingly muddied sound.

Harry Worth wrote:... I had been at the Kings Dock show in Liverpool a couple of moths earlier and been disappointed for the first time at a Costello gig, he seemed tired and weary. As a consequence, despite the pleading of a fellow Costellophile I didn't bother with the gig he did at the Mountford Hall the night before the Apollo gig which I'm told was a total return to form.

Yeah - a holiday in Amsterdam kept me away from the Kings Dock, the Mountford Hall show was awesome and at the meet and greet aftewards Elvis told me it was "much better than the Pops" (ie the Summer Pops at KD)

Pretty damn fine to be honest. EC's voice seemed a little strained for the main set at times ( Accidents was slightly off key to my ears) but when he came out and did the solo set of Josephine, Jimmie Standing and Who's The Meanest Gal, it seemed to have recovered and this was peerless. To my mind, there' s no English songwriter to touch him when he writes stuff like Jimmie - the imagery perfectly encapsulates that moment in time yet has an intelligent and compassionate twist. Imposters were superb, the Joanna section a particular highlight with Talking In The Dark and the encore though perhaps a little predictable, was playing like it was their first time of performing -no staleness there. This was my 100th EC gig from Roundhouse in 1978 and Exeter 1981 to this - a pretty memorable way to bring up the first ton ! Goodnight all !!

I've been waiting for about ten years to be able to afford to go to an EC gig and it's finally happened. This was my first show, and it was everything I expected and more. I got pulled up on stage with my ladyfriend and got the double spin for I've Been Wrong Before and Chelsea. I wish I'd bought tickets for more shows now because there are quite a few songs on the wheel on this leg that I'd love to hear.

It's interesting that no press reviews seem to have appeared. Is that more likely due to the fact that it's Sunday or the old review above?

I first saw E.C. three years ago when he was without the band and it was an intense and involving show. This time around Elvis is back with Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher and he has resurrected his 'Revolver' show.

This is Elvis in a kitsch, gameshow-host, wise-cracking M.C. persona which maybe doesn't sound like something that he can pull off but trust me- he is solid gold, and has us right from the off with gentle ribbing of the Manchester audience and frequent asides about the state of the present Government. It's safe to say that Elvis is on safe territory here and we respond appropriately!

The band run on stage and tear into five songs without any pause before E.C. welcomes us P.T. Barnum-style and explains what we are about to enjoy.Before you know it, his gorgeous accomplice has already led the first volunteer onto the stage and after some more schtick she is spinning the wheel to determine what the next song is gonna be: cue loads of requests and general melee from the audience until the wheel eventually stops and we are straight into..."Alison" which segues into "The Wind Cries Mary". Wow- top that!

The Wheel Of Fortune may deliver hits such as ‘Oliver’s Army’, ‘Everyday I Write The Book’ and ‘Watching The Detectives’ or land on a ‘Jackpot’ selection such as ‘Time’ or’Joanna', which means that a couple of songs with those words in the title will be played.

Costello also loves playing covers: it might be The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan although plenty others are all represented too.There is also a 'Joker' category which allows the lucky punter to choose whatever song they want! With over 150 songs (purely a guess from E.C.) this really is making-it-up-as-you-go...

Once the song has started the guest can either take a seat in the Society Lounge just beside Mr. Nieve or try to shake a tailfeather in the Hostage-To-Fortune Go-Go Cage. It is quite something to see how wide the gulf is between professional dancers and us enthusiastic and not quite so gifted amateurs, hah-hah!That said, the other guys in the band did often make eye-contact with their onstage guests and relax them with a smile and a laugh: good on you chaps.

Of course as Elvis jokingly acknowledges a lot of his songs are full of rage, despair and generally miserable stuff at times so it is remarkable how the mood is changed just by altering the lighting and having the guests sit down.Such is the respect that the audience have for Costello and also his control over them that he can step away from the mic and sing unamplified: I have only seen Tony Bennett pull this off successfully before.He also wanders amongst us freely, all the while singing beautifully and even goes up to the punters upstairs and reappears with the next ecstatic guest. Just wonderful stuff all round.

Before you know what's what, almost 2 1/2 hours have flown by and we really are all done. Very highly recommended!

Tis a long time since I've been to an EC gig as good as this one was. Both me and Mrs Worth have been grinning all day and eliciting memories of a wonderful 2 hours and 40 minutes! Many, many highlights, the Josephine section, the Trust/imperial Bedroom themed segment, a fantastic National Ransom, just all damned fabulous!

logicalextreme wrote:I've been waiting for about ten years to be able to afford to go to an EC gig and it's finally happened. This was my first show, and it was everything I expected and more. I got pulled up on stage with my ladyfriend and got the double spin for I've Been Wrong Before and Chelsea.

You have revealed your superhero identity! Married yet?

As for the gig: pure joy from beginning to end, really looking forward to London & Cambridge now!

As for the gig: pure joy from beginning to end, really looking forward to London & Cambridge now!

Not yet I'm not sure how much detail you can see from the different rows (I can tell you right now that you can't see a single audience member when you're up there with the lights in your eyes) but I gave the ring back when he mentioned having six kids. It only occurred to me today that I could probably have kept it -- cheap flashing plastic ring, yes; but a cheap flashing plastic ring from Elvis! He was nice enough to come straight up to us at the stage door too. Like Harry I've been grinning all day and feel unusually peaceful.

If anybody's got any pictures of us up there I'd love to see them, I can see a super-low-res one on the link above which gives me hope. A boot'd be great too but I can just keep checking Dime for that.

logicalextreme wrote: It's interesting that no press reviews seem to have appeared. Is that more likely due to the fact that it's Sunday or the old review above?

Review in City Life by Chris Slater published on Monday 14 May:

Apollo, Manchester

May 12, 2012

Unemployment, a recession and an unpopular Tory government. Not much has changed since Elvis Costello was in his pomp in the late 1970s and 80s. Yet it was a very different Elvis that graced the stage tonight.

Many artists now look down on the greatest hits parade and only play new material. But Elvis has embraced his back catalogue with a fun, unique and distinctly Hollywood approach to the show. Hardly surprising given his new role as US chat show host.

For this tour he has cast himself as a 1950s gameshow host with the stage adorned with a huge wheel, containing titles from dozens of his hits. Costello brought delighted audience members up to the stage to spin the wheel which would choose the next song.

‘These people’s enjoyment of the next five minutes depends on you’, he told the first lucky contestant Helen. whose choice of Everyday I Write The Book did not disappoint.

The format meant Elvis and his band had to be extremely versatile. But supported by original members of The Attractions – keyboardist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas– they rose to the challenge. They even deviated from the wheel playing Deep, Dark, Truthful Mirror after a special request.

The wheel delivered enough to keep everyone in the audience happy – from Accidents Will Happen to I Don’t Wanna go to Chelsea, they were all there. And that was before the hit-laden finale.

For the middle section of the show, the band left the stage and allowed Elvis’s powerful voice to get the focus and attention it deserves. He also seized the chance to make a few, almost nostalgic, political statements.

‘This is a democratic show, which is more than can be said of the country’ he said before slamming Rebekah Brooks, Rupert Murdoch and The Sun. He also gave an outing to Tramp the Dirt Down, a number in which he fantasises about stamping on the grave of Margaret Thatcher.

Band back, the crowd were soon back on their feet as Elvis wrapped up the show with a bang. On stage for nearly three hours he hardly paused for breath as he rattled off another stream of hits including Peace Love and Understanding and Oliver’s Army.

As fans danced their way out of the Apollo, they were left in doubt – Elvis may have left the building but he’s definitely cemented his place in the rock’n’roll hall of fame.

Once again the Sulky curse hit me in my recording - my flash recorder switched off spontaneously as it did in Oxford in 2010. I had switched it onto keypad lock to try and avoid this too. I was a bit close to the security people too so couldn't leave it exposed so I could keep an eye on it. To add insult to injury, the beast said the charge was full in Liverpool and then it died half way through I Hope You're Happy Now. However ........